I've been watching Hallmark Channel's tsimmes of uplifting Christmas movies as I work in the morning. They vary from the interesting ("Ms Scrooge") to the appalling ("The Night They Saved Christmas"). (The latter is so devoid of joy, wit, or humor -- all the adult actors, including Art Carney, are there strictly to pick up their paychecks -- that it's a must-see for misanthropes and noelphobes.)
"The Santa Suit" is a modern version of "A Christmas Carol", with big chunks of "Miracle on 34th Street" blended in. It consistently /sidesteps/ (most) opportunities to be cute, cheaply sentimental, or superficially humorous. It even addresses issues films such as these rarely, if ever, consider. * Perhaps I'm getting old, but it drew a few tears, which seemed to have been honestly earned.
Though "The Santa Suit" is an exercise in subdued acting, writing, and direction, Kevin Sorbo's performance nevertheless stands out. I never thought much of this hairy-chest-with-a-dimple -- he did little more than read his lines in "Andromeda" -- but here he actually /acts/ and delivers a convincing characterization. If there's an Emmy for "Best Actor in a Made-for-Cable Movie", he should be nominated.
No, it's not a great film, but it's "good enough", one of those rare "Christmas movies" most viewers won't think was a waste of time.
* When Drake considers getting an expensive doll for a farbisseneh little girl, the woman who hired him to play Santa suggests that perhaps she would be better off /not/ believing in Santa, and not expecting to receive everything she wants. (The film might have been even better had it taken this path to its predictable resolution. What, you were expecting maybe a sorrowful ending?)
